New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-04-22
of force went . great

provesel :aa s s9psery9}'en 81 i0r's "e"' s''"'
II was Wiliiam Rossctti who first turned Mrs.
Gilchssts attention to Whitman, and may be said
to have initiated her into the mysteries Of which
| ahe became the first priestssa Hor essay entitled
IAN Enslishwomans Estimate OF Walt Whitman
was sent to Mr.. w. D. OConnor In Washington,
with preface by Rosse.ti, and was printed In The
Radical. II was read with great deal OF interest
not only on account OF Its loundless enthusiasm
but syill more because 1t was the production OF O
woman. Mrs. Gilchrlst was we'll aware OF the
pecrliarit.es OF her venture u often feel, sue
writes, as II my enterprise were very IKE Lazy
| Godiva's-as II hers indeed were typical OF mino
For she stripped tho veil from woman's body Tor
| oooa cousa and from womans soul for great
| cause And no man has ever dared to ind fault
with herr We speak of the Whitman enthusiasts
| "a the preachers and devotees of new cult, ana
this ia not mere figure of speech. Mrs. Glchrist
expresses herself in letters to Rossetti with more
freedom than in the essays. Rejecting the whole
cory of the supernatural az dream she looks
upon Whitman not merely rs poet, but as the
prophet of q new creed, which is to demolish the
childish and outgrown absurdites and moral base
ness known as Christianity, and to establish the
poet az the highest and most benefcenJ of impulses
Christ of whom tho apostles aud evangelists nave
given us false portrait, rejecting only their own
kindred soul, comes much nearer to Christ indeed
than to Homer or Shakespeare OF any other poet
I" He takes up tho thread where Christ lett 1t ne
)naugurates in his own person a new phase OF relig-
ION. religion which casts ont utterly the abJect-
ness of fear sees the 'nimbus round every head,
knowing that evil. like its>protoype darkness, Is
not thing, IN existence at ALL but the abfence of a
thing-of light. So there Is laid to rest that
phantom of q Devil-of some power or being con-
fbnff In ChriQ
Whitman has arisen, the demolition of Christianity,
which the keen strong honest intellect OF the vol
taires and Humes could not effect nor the scorn
and indignation of beautiful Shelley. will be ac-
complished Whitman has come; snow Christi
anity will CO."
Mrs Gilchrist visited America principally in
order to see Whitman She wan much in his COM
pany and preserves many of his remarks But
Americans will be disappointed IL the chapter de-
voted to the American tour. IL tells us little
about the people whom Mis-. GicSrst met, and it
indicates that she was pleased with her expert
ences but it contains few passages worth quoting
Here, however, is story told by Walt Whitman OF
an eccentric celebrity not yet commemorated as he
deserves to be, often as he figured in letters ana
diaries:
bear in Washington to nc he did tie honor OF IN
trusting his condolences The Count was arlstor
cratic, his brother having married Sn Infan,a Oh
Spain. He came to America for liberal reasons.
IJpou ono occasion Count Gurowsk was at |
soree in Boston, where he was introduced TO lady
for special purpose; in the course OF CONVEX,
sat,on 1t came out that the Count had studded
under Hegel. oh, what was the color OF Hegeis
eyes = exclaimed the lady. Count Guroweki couid
DO tey bowling, anxious to understand when the
question repeated-what was the color OF MS
eyesf His bear nature was TOO inucn Ior nm I'M.
:" Damn his eyes, what do care for the color OF his
eyes!"